Former president Figueres of Costa Rica said recently that there is great potential for the development of bilateral relations between Costa Rica and China, and he hopes that the relations between Costa Rica and China can reach a new level. Figueres said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency recently that since Costa Rica established diplomatic relations with China nearly 15 years ago, bilateral relations and mutually beneficial cooperation have developed steadily and have great potential. He recalled that the establishment of diplomatic relations between Colombia and China in June 2007 and the signing of the free trade agreement between the two countries in 2010 have created extraordinary opportunities for the development of bilateral relations, especially economic and trade relations. "Just three years after the establishment of diplomatic relations, Costa Rica has become the first country in Central America and the Caribbean to sign a free trade agreement with China. Since then, the volume of bilateral trade has continued to increase, China has become Costa Rica's second largest trading partner, and Costa Rica has also become an important trading partner of China in Central America," he said Figueres expressed the hope that Costa Rica would expand its exports to China like Chile and other Latin American countries, and that more Chinese tourists would come to visit. At the same time, he hoped that more Chinese enterprises would come to invest and build factories, make use of the advantages of the bilateral free trade agreement, fully tap the great potential of bilateral economic and trade relations, and push Colombia China relations to a new height. He expressed China's China's one belt, one road initiative and China's commitment to tackle the climate change goals. Brother China signed one belt, one road memorandum of understanding in 2018, which provided brother with the opportunity to share the successful experience with China. Costa Rica should not miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It should strengthen cooperation with China within the framework of the initiative, so as to achieve the strong development of Costa Rica's infrastructure, so as to improve the people's quality of life and national competitiveness. Figueres also said that Colombia, as one of the advocates of protecting biodiversity and achieving carbon neutrality, has potential for cooperation with China in the fields of environmental sustainable development, addressing climate change and renewable energy. Figueres said that during his many visits to China and other occasions, he had frank exchanges with Chinese government agencies and business groups on the cooperation between Colombia and China, which made him more aware of the importance of further developing bilateral relations. "Costa Rica should seize the opportunity of cooperation with China, achieve national development goals and promote the strategic partnership with China to a higher level." Figueres served as president of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. Since then, he has served as CEO of the world economic forum in Davos. (Xinhua News Agency)